Talking Ponds With Tisbury Waterways

On Thursday, Oct. 3, the Tisbury Waterways, Inc. will hold its annual meeting at 5 p.m. at the Katharine Cornell Theatre. The meeting will include a presentation on inshore dredging projects and what to do with the collected spoils. The program is a joint effort by the Tisbury Waterways Inc. and the Martha’s Vineyard Commission.

Tisbury Waterways was founded in 1988. It advocates for solutions to solving water quality problems, primarily in the Tisbury area. Melinda Loberg, president of Tisbury Waterways Inc., said that each year the organization tries to create an annual meeting that helps spawn new ideas. This year’s presentation will be given by Christine Player of CLE Engineering in Marion.

The presentation is tied to the organization’s interest in dredging the freshwater pond at the head of Lake Tashmoo. A herring run that was installed to connect the pond to Lake Tashmoo is not working because the pond is too shallow and at times too warm to support the herring. The pond is suffering from an accumulation of organic material.

What to do with the dredged spoils is also a big issue, Ms. Loberg said. There are now new techniques for collecting the spoils and containing them in a bladder-like container which will help drain the water from the material and create a product that could be used by farmers as compost and fertilizer.

The problem isn’t unique to Lake Tashmoo. Ms. Loberg said the presentation may be of some help to those looking at dredging the freshwater Old Mill Pond in West Tisbury.